We’ve had a busy 2 days, without a report, so this post will cover days 6
and 7 (May 29 and 30). Thursday the 29th found us closing in on Bermuda,
motoring with a light breeze. Jake was closely monitoring our fuel,
switching tanks every 4 hours or so to keep them even. About 30 miles from
Bermuda we refueled using the 10 gallons of diesel from our 2 jerry cans.
And it’s a good thing we had that extra because when we filled our tanks we
had only 2 gallons left in one tank and 18 in the other.

It had been our hope and plan to refuel in Bermuda and head directly back to
sea. In order to be as efficient as possible in our effort to get back to
sea, we each had assignments to complete as soon as we cleared customs:
Jake, Leo and Peter V fueled the boat and listened to Herb. I headed
quickly to the grocery store to replenish our most popular items: tomatoes,
fruit and yogurt. The 2 rookies (Jeff and Peter L) took the semi-annual
case of Heineken to Bermuda Radio. (We have done this every trip as thanks
for their help with a problem we had on our very first trip south.) Two
years ago another rookie, Michael Coddington, carried the beer up the hill
to BR and set the record: 7 minutes 34.87 seconds. Peter L took that as a
personal challenge, certain he could shatter the record. He talked of
hydrating himself ahead of time. He warmed up with stretches on the dock
before heading out. He and Jeff were given directions to the liquor store
and general directions to BR. (How hard can it be? It’s on the highest
point of land. You can see it from the entire harbor.) They took a wrong
turn up some steps and into a private yard. They retraced their path and
cut across another yard. They found stairs that led to a dead end and had
to go back. Finally, while Pete was retracing his path, Jeff found the
right way and arrived first, saying “I’m from avalanche, but the rookie with
the beer is lost. He’ll be here soon.” Their time: 13+++ minutes.
Needless to say, the rookie is getting a good-natured razzing. For their
effort they got a full tour of the facility with all the radar, GPS, radio
and monitoring equipment. Jeff, an electronics pro, was like a kid in a
candy store. The view is pretty spectacular, too.

We all got back to the boat to learn that Herb’s weather report was holding
us overnight. So we went out to anchor, launched the dinghy and pulled the
engine out of the sail locker. With 6 people it was just a minor project.
Peter V went ashore to buy renowned Bermuda fish chowder and red wine to go
with his dinner of lasagna, as well as some cold beer and ice. I had a
shower and holed up with my Clive Cussler novel after dinner while the guys
all told stories.

After a good night’s sleep we woke up to a gray drizzly day. We had a huge
breakfast and then all but Jake and I went ashore to do some exploring and
shopping. The guys hiked across the island to a really pretty little beach
where Jeff swam. Then they returned to town for a successful shopping trip.
Jake checked out with customs, we hauled the dinghy and had lunch. We
radioed BR for permission to leave, pulled the anchor and departed. The
heavy overcast was thinning and the drizzle had stopped. Within an hour we
had glimpses of blue sky and by sunset the bad weather had cleared out.

We had 2 fish on our lines not far out of Bermuda, one right after the
other. Pete L a.k.a. Rookie, grabbed the first rod and began reeling it in,
but lost the fish. As the 2nd fish struck he quickly grabbed that rod and
began reeling, losing that fish as well. To quote the 1800 log entry:
“Rookie farms 2 fish.” It’s a given that the rookie has a lot to learn and
will make mistakes, but when it comes to the fish that we all want to eat
and that count in the contest, it’s really hard to overlook those errors.
So.Rookie is taking a double dose of razzing: for getting lost trying to
find BR and then losing 2 precious fish.

Fishing contest score: Jake 0, Peter 1, Fish 6.

We learned about a couple of tragic incidents while we were in Bermuda.
Apparently in the week or 2 weeks before we arrived Bermuda had some awful
weather: high winds for days as storm after storm blew through the area.
During that time 2 sailboats were dismasted, one 30′, the other 35′. Each
boat was abandoned during the bad weather and is currently drifting, a
hazard to navigation, one 130 miles NNE of Bermuda, the other about 100
miles SW of Bermuda. The boat to the north had 5 crew aboard, who
desperately wanted to abandon ship. The Coast Guard strongly recommended
that they stay aboard for 24 hours at which point the storm would pass ,the
waters would be calm and a rescue would be easy and safe. Instead the crew
insisted that they get off the boat. A passing cargo ship threw a climbing
net over the side of their ship for the crew to climb up. Only 3 crew
members made it. The other 2 perished. I repeat this story because it has
made us appreciate our efforts to keep the crew and boat safe, our rule
about only abandoning ship if it is sinking out from under us, and our
opportunity to avoid sailing in stormy weather, thanks to Herb.

All the best from the crew of avalanche, who will be frantically fishing all
day tomorrow.

Thursday May 29, 2008 Latitude 32 22.4 N Longitude 64 40.8W (170 miles)

Friday May 30, 2008 Latitude 32 36.365 N Longitude 64 49.71W (19 miles)

.

Did I say “desert”? Well, that myth was destroyed today by about 40
dolphins dancing, leaping, and generally showing off as they came racing
toward us from our port bo! A half dozen played in our bow wave as we stood
on deck watching, calling to them and taking photos. The rest continued to
frolic further away. They performed their standard trick of leaping
gracefully forward out of the water as they swam plus another feat we’d
never seen. Several dolphins leaped vertically out of the water, seemed to
stand on their tails and then fall splat back into the water. They did that
over and over again. We never tire of watching the dolphins.

On the fishing front we have no news. We’ve had the lines out from dawn to
dusk, but haven’t had even a bite. The fishermen are hoping we’ll catch
something as we come up on soundings near Bermuda tomorrow morning.

It looks as if we’ll get to Bermuda sometime Thursday afternoon, sooner if
the wind comes in from the SW as predicted and we can throw some sails up.
A little later if we can only motor. We’d love to get there before the fuel
dock closes in order to depart again immediately for home. We’ll see.

The last item is a wonderful dinner prepared by the rookie, as we have taken
to calling Pete L. (He is, after all, the rookie this trip.) Peter V
coached him in preparing pork tenderloin with red potatoes and a huge salad,
and the rookie did himself proud!

All the best from the crew of avalanche looking forward to Bermuda tomorrow.

May 28 1600 Latitude 29 38.200N Longitude 63 46.800W (miles in 24 hours:
191)

.

We’ve had a wet exciting and topsy-turvey kind of day today. The weather wreaked havoc with the watch schedule. Sometime in the early morning the weather began to deteriorate, and by 9:30 we were in the midst of a full-fledged squall. The wind shifted forward, the seas got bigger and lumpier, the wind increased and so did the rain until it was really pelting the boat. Jake and the 2 Peters were on deck when the storm began and stayed until the end-no sense dragging all that water into the boat andsending someone dry out into the storm. They called for their foul weather gear and hats and hunkered down in the cockpit to keep the boat on course with a combination of power and sail. The radar screen showed heavy rain for 8 miles all around us, further in some quadrants. Jeff used the radar to monitor the movement of the storm for a few minutes and then suggested a course change that would get us out of the storm in the shortest distance. And it worked. It wasn’t quick, however. It took about 4 hours to get through the worst of the storm. We could begin to see a couple areas of blue sky, the dark clouds ahead seemed less dense than those behind. And the rain stopped. At that point we all had lunch and the wet guys came below while the dry guys went out fully dressed in foul weather gear. Yet another example of great teamwork on avalanche! (Peter V reported the highest wind gust he saw at 35 knots.) Jeff and I took a photo of our radar screen with the storm all around. We’ll try to post it. (The range was at 8 miles, the rings are 2 miles.) (It’s just like the Doppler radar the local weatherman shows on TV.)

The rest of the afternoon has been spent with Jake and the 2 Peters going down to sleep. Jeff has now joined them, Leo and I are on watch, but I’ve been permitted to do all my watching inside out of the weather, and Jake has gotten up again to go on deck and to talk to Herb. We’re waiting for Herb to tell us what we just went through and what to expect next, then it will be a
turkey dinner. It’s supposed to be Jake’s turn to cook, but since he’s out sailing the boat again, and I’m inside, I’ll do my best to get dinner together.

Unfortunately the propagation was miserable, so we couldn’t ask Herb what we had gone through, whether it was a front or merely an extended squall or squalls. We were able to learn that we won’t have much wind between here and Bermuda. But the best news is that the clouds have thinned and we have big patches of starry sky around.

Leo and I were both commenting on how quickly the sea can change. During the storm the seas were big, yet at midnight when we were on watch together the sea was practically calm in the moonlight. I had thought of describing the sea at some point, and this is a good opportunity. If you watched George Clooney in The Perfect Storm, it might be easy to imagine the ocean as wild with huge scary waves. Since we are able to select our weather window when we are out here with input from Herb, we don’t experience anything like those conditions. We are more likely to see 5-6′ swells with 10-20 knot winds and the accompanying white caps. In a squall like today the wind driven waves are whipped up, the water blows off the tops and it’s hard to see very far in the rain-just like at home on Narragansett Bay. When we have light winds and are motoring we are apt to have small swells, and when there is no wind it can be glassy calm. That’s when we have swim call!

Also of note is that the ocean is like a desert. We see very little life. We’ve had the barracuda and 2 marlin, but haven’t seen any other fish except flying fish. We’ve seen Bermuda longtails and shearwaters, but that’s about it for birds. I’ve spotted a couple of loose fishing floats, and someone saw a piece of lumber. Otherwise we see Sargasso weed. (We have a dip net to scoop up some weed to see all the life it carries, but it hasn’t been calm enough to use it yet.)

I have to apologize for forgetting to include our latitude and longitude in each day’s blog. I’ll include the 1600 position (that’s when we talk to Herb) for today, and append the preceding 3 days as well. All the best from the crew of avalanche, looking for a dull ordinary unexciting day tomorrow, perhaps some fish!

Tuesday May 27 Latitude 26 30.65 N Longitude 63 08.99W (miles in 24 hours:
178)

Monday May 26 Latitude 23 38.100N Longitude 62 22.6W (miles in 24 hours:
180)

Sunday May 25 Latitude 20 45.669N Longitude 61 52.174W (miles in 24 hours:
185)

Saturday May 24 Latitude 17 35.800N Longitude 61 39.111W

.

Well, today we did have that day to sit on deck, relax and enjoy. We put up
the motoring awning for protection from the sun and heat. We played cards,
read, sat in the pool to get cool, took long naps and generally enjoyed
ourselves. Leo demonstrated some really impressive card tricks. Jeff
tinkers constantly with the computer programs and navigation instruments,
all to our benefit. He’s given me lessons on both the radar and weather
faxes. (One of those lessons was at 4 am, so I’m not sure I retained much.)
It’s a super opportunity for us to learn from an expert and for him to fine
tune our instruments under actual conditions. Peter V prepared shredded
beef sandwiches for lunch and reports having a long cool bath in the pool on
the back deck. I can’t report any other specifics, because I slept most of
the day, my only job being to prepare dinner

The winds are light and variable, so we are motor sailing. That means we’re
motoring, but whenever possible we put up sails to increase our speed. We
took down the poles this morning, so we can use the jibs in their normal
configuration.

The most exciting thing that happened today was the sighting of another
really big marlin. This time it was Leo who saw it swim past the boat on
its way to take a look at our lures. It gave each one a little nibble, but
didn’t bite, before going on its way. Leo’s eyes were huge as he described
its size and proximity, and he’s seen some impressive fish.

The final item of note is Herb’s birthday-71st, we think. We wished him
birthday greetings over the airways when he discussed the weather forecast
with Jake, and we’ve sent him and his wife, Brigitte, out for a birthday
dinner tonight. All the best for another happy and healthy year, Herb! For
those of you who don’t know yet who Herb is and how important he is to our
program, please check the link on the website. You can read about what Herb
does, and how he has helped yachties in trouble.

All the best from the relaxed crew of avalanche.

.

Hello from the busy yacht Avalanche!

We can hardly believe the day we’ve had. We got up to another bright, sunny, really really hot day, with a light breeze blowing. With 6 of us in the watch schedule we get 8 hours of sleep every night, plus another 6 hours off during the day to do as we please. Since we are so well rested, despite it being only our first day at sea, everyone was up and looking forward to a bath in the pool, some reading and cards as we sailed along at a respectable 8 knots. Well, that isn’t exactly how it worked out…

In the early morning we had a huge fish on. I got a look at him when he jumped way way behind the boat. (He took off so fast that Jake had only 6 wraps of line left on his reel.) He must have been easily 6′ long. The span of the tail was equal to the span of my arms, and the tail looked like that of a marlin. He shook himself free of the hook, which was a darned good thing. What would we have done with such a huge fish once we got him to the boat? Shortly thereafter we had 3 strikes on the lines (2 were probably the same fish hitting each line), but we weren’t quick enough to set the hooks, so we lost them. That is the extent of the fishing for today, so the score is now Jake 0, Peter 1, Fish 4.

During that part of the morning when we were not catching fish, we wanted to make a little water to replace what we had used. As Jake started the watermaker he discovered a growing leak. (In Antigua the same leak had been proclaimed innocent by the watermaker guru there: just expansion due to the extreme heat.) Well, apparently the rusted out part on the back of the gauge that was allowing water to flow out was not all that innocent after all.  Fortunately we have an extremely talented crew. Peter V offered advice from the helm and I fetched paper towels and parts. Meanwhile Jake, who had previously taken the gauge and panel apart, and Jeff, who is an engineer at heart, pulled the panel open,  solated the leak, and determined that they could cap off the line to the gauge and still make water. The only question was how to determine when we had 850 PSI without a gauge. Too much pressure would blow the various pressure fittings off the membranes. Well, they calibrated the turns on the leaking gauge before removing it and we proceeded to make about 125 gallons of water! Not a bad morning’s work.

The next event came immediately after a slightly delayed but no less delicious BLT lunch prepared by Pete Largess, and even before Peter Vaiciulis could get the dishes washed. Jake had been watching the wind drop and the direction go aft and was itching to try sailing wing & wing. Wing & wing means fastening both spinnaker poles to the mast and positioning them at right angles to the boat, then rolling out the 2 jibs (Whomper and Yankee) to the poles, one on each side. Now that was an all hands evolution! (Except Leo, who was off watch and slept through the first half. Some of the rest of us were also off watch, but up and about and couldn’t resist the challenge.) The first step was to locate the appropriate lines and turning blocks. Then it took all the guys to lift both poles in place and secure each one with a topping lift, foreguy, and afterguy, and run the sheet through the forward end of the pole. (If you were counting, that’s 4 lines per pole.) Then all those lines had to be run and sometimes rerun to get a fair lead. While the guys did the heavy lifting I was trimming all these lines as they came back to the cockpit. Jake and Peter V had done this all before (albeit usually under Ben Jacobsen’s tutelage), so they led the project. Pete L has done lots of foredeck work on small boats, so he knew what needed to happen, but had no idea of the loads on a boat as big as avalanche. Jeff had delivered and raced many miles so he, too was totally conversant with the requirements. It probably took a couple of hours under the hot sun to get the job done, but once done we were so proud! Once done we took photos and will try to post one near this blog.

Not long after completing the wing & wing evolution it was time to talk to Herb and get the weather report: little or no wind through Wednesday. So we rolled up the jibs, but left the poles strapped in place and turned on the engine-except that it wasn’t getting any water. Since burning up the engine or any part thereof wouldn’t be good, Jake and Leo (who had to step away from final preparations of his shrimp scampi for dinner) opened the sea strainer and impeller to create and verify water flow. They managed to get water flowing and the engine going, and Leo served up a fine dinner!

We can credit a successful day (instead of a disaster) to our fine crew, who reacted positively to the good and the bad. We really acted as a team. People who could fix stuff fixed it. People who weren’t on watch stood watch so the watch standers could make repairs. Pete L delayed his lunch until the watermaker project was under control. Dishes got washed by crew who had the day off from KP duty. The entire crew rose to the challenge of rigging a system we had little specific experience with and did a fine job. Someone kept Leo’s dinner on schedule while he crawled in the bilge. Teamwork. It was great! And afterward there was a line for the pool and shower!

So maybe tomorrow we’ll have that quiet day of reading, bathing, playing cards and telling stories!

All the best from the crew of Avalanche, most of whom didn’t get a nap today.